


The Closer (You Are To the Top, the Faster You'll Go)

by ravinilla



Series: The Conception of Revenge [2]
Category: VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Gen, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Love Potion/Spell, loosely based off The Closer, vague navi/haken undertones
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 09:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9996350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravinilla/pseuds/ravinilla
Summary: Hakyeon knew that if he did this, there was no going back. Everything was going to change.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read [The Closer (You Are To the Edge, the More You’re Willing To Risk)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8453554), don't worry! You don't need to for this, but they're part of the same storyline, as this universe is now a novelization of VIXX's CONCEPTION trilogy. Enjoy!

Quick footsteps—running—echoed through the open halls of the stone tower. Where shoes clicked against the concrete, panting followed.

The tower rose above the forest line, so tall that it cut the sky into the clouds. An entrance to the realm of the gods, people said—it was dangerous, a one-way trip. He didn't care about that. What he did care about was if he was too late or not.

The cards—the nasty little things—had told him he might be, that he was up against someone who had an advantage over him, who was superior to him in almost every way. He didn't doubt it, but he hated that it was someone he knew. Someone he thought he could trust.

Taekwoon.

That _bastard._

Wind whistled a low, ominous tune in his ears as he ran up floor after floor. The levels seemed infinite, but he wouldn't stop until he found who he was looking for. The cards directed him to a neutral god who only played by his own hand for his own ends, and they said he could help him. For who he was up against, he would take all the help he could get.

He considered more than once calling out the god's name; Ravi was what the people knew him as, but there was another, more personal name that would ensnare his attention for sure. Here though, it was dangerous; he didn't know what else could be lurking in the shadows. He passed a level where there seemed to be a setup for a ghostly banquet. It would be safer not to disturb the eerie peace, and even though he was sure his imagination was only overreacting, he swore eyes were trailing him around.

In a ramped corridor where the walls were curtained with vines, a sudden flash of lighting startled him. Pausing, he leaned into one of the entangled weaves to catch his breath. How long had he been running? His eyes fell closed so he could level himself out again, but the image of the one he loved— _gentle waves of brown, smooth skin, shining eyes that seemed to see everything inside of him—_ darted through his mind. He inhaled sharply.

There was no time to rest.

With a last, calming breath, he set off again. He was close, he could feel it. Thunder rumbled low in the distance.

Higher and higher, he could tell he was far up because the air was thinner. The vague thought of finding where the gods called home crossed his mind, the twinkling of crystal chandeliers in the corners of his vision, but when he heard a deep sigh, he stopped again. He slid closer to the edge of the center.

Willing the vertigo away, he looked up and twisted his neck. A few more floors up, there it was: A vibrant red light pouring from one of the room openings. That had to be it.

Thoughtlessly, he climbed up the ledge with the idea that he could get up there without needing to ascend more. If he could just— _reach—_

"F- _Fuck!"_

His foot slipped and in a last ditch attempt to catch himself, spun around on the ledge. His heart lodged itself into his throat and his stomach plummeted down before—

Air was not flying past his ears as he fell. In fact, he wasn't falling at all.

His eyes snapped open and he found himself staring at the topless tower. It went for levels and layers and floors until there was nothing but an endless darkness. His hand was outreached. His body was suspended in midair, only the ball of his foot still clinging against the ledge.

He shakily lifted his head to look back at the ground in front of him, and he saw her. _Her._ His eyes widened.

"Nayou—"

His voice was caught against the walls of his throat before he could finish blurting her name, as if something stopped him up. She stared wordlessly at him, bewitching eyes raking over his form before settling on his hand. Every move of hers was calculated and graceful as she reached forward, her dainty hand reaching out for his own, and he almost closed his eyes again in bliss at her touch when their fingers threaded.

Strength inhuman, she pulled him forward. Slung in disbelief, his breathing was shallow while his foot reached out to step back onto the concrete. Impalpable air surrounded her wholly expressionless form.

And when he reached forward to cup her face, she disintegrated into glittering dust.

He gasped, reality slamming back into him. He fell back against the wall, bracing himself on weak legs, and looked around for her. She was gone. There was no one, not a single trace of her or that anyone might've been there. Painfully, his heart clenched. She'd just been an _illusion._

The rumors were true. This tower was dangerous, gateway to the gods or not.

Wearily, he looked over his shoulder to seek out the red room that caught his attention before. Why had he thought he could climb up there from here? It must've been a trick—he was going to fall to his death at this rate. Still, the red room shone brighter and beckoned him.

Shakily inhaling, he pushed himself off the wall and started into a slow walk to regain his bearings. As he did, he pinched the bridge of his nose and pushed away the thoughts of how this place produced such a cruel mirage tailored just to him. Then again, it was enough that he was alive right now and he couldn't let this get in his way.

She was the reason he'd come here, after all.

When he finally reached the floor with the red room, he stopped to calm himself again. His heart raced at an alarming rate and doubt unforgivably shrouded him. To come to such a place for this reason . . . He was desperate, but it could cost him more than he was willing to pay. But what wasn't she worth to him? He asked himself that, and the answer was clear: He would give his life for her.

Determination renewed, he set off to circle the floor to reach the red room.

The echos of his footsteps were drowned out by his heart that worked its way up to a hammering. He didn't know what he would find here, but something told him his life would never be the same after this.

The room had two openings, straining vermillion flooding out from both of them. He stopped just short of the first, wondering if anyone was inside. He pressed up against the wall and then sidled against it, and when he reached the edge, he took a deep breath. He peeked around the corner.

Water pooled in many parts of the floor, surface glassy and rendering it too much like a portal to another dimension. On a single, raised platform with thin stairs on either side was a leather couch that looked more for lounging than for resting up against. Glinting in the light were various glass bottles, large vials, crowned with vines that seemed to grow from thin air. This room most certainly belonged to the person he was looking for.

He pulled back from around the wall and smoothed himself out. He could do this. He _would_ do this. For her.

Straightening out, he dauntlessly turned the corner.

A gasp got caught in his throat when he saw a man with one leg thrown over the other sitting on the couch. Instinct wanted him to leap behind the wall again, but he was frozen to his spot in a foolish fear of being seen.

Even though he was surely heard, the man didn't spare a glance his way. In one hand was a square crystal bottle filled a liquid he couldn't quite tell the color of because of the stark lighting, but the man was pouring it into a thin goblet.

_That's it._

He took a look over the man—the _god._ His hair was shaved close on the sides and longer on top, it was jelled neatly and parted at the side. His body was long in every definition of the word, and despite knowing what he was, he could never be mistaken for a mere mortal. He had to be among the most beautiful beings in the world.

The thick, regal air made it hard to decide how to approach him. If he did this wrong, he knew he could be struck down on the spot—gods could be horribly temperamental, and some of the stories he'd heard were nothing short of terrifying. The best way, they said, was to be direct and gallant. It gave the god the sense that one held themselves to a high esteem.

However, before he could open his mouth, the god spoke first.

"Are you just going to stand there, human?"

He widened his eyes. Of course the god knew he was standing and gaping. He shook himself from his stupor and stepped forward, the tips of his shoes splashing against the water.

"Taekwoon, did he come?"

The god paused. He lowered his bottle and goblet and then deliberately turned to look at him. An amused smirk tugged at his small lips, as if recalling a fond incident.

"It's funny you should ask like that. He also asked like that." he responded.

Dread soaked through him at the words. Taekwoon had already come. Taekwoon _beat_ him here. The cards were right. His legs almost gave out under him in the want to fall to his knees.

"State your name and purpose." Ravi suddenly said.

He came back to himself, blinking. He needed to stay steeled. If he wavered for even a moment, everything would come to an end. He took a deep breath.

"I am Cha Hakyeon. I'm here to reclaim the love of my life."

Ravi shook his head. "That tells me nothing, human. How does your reclamation plan include me and my powers?"

Hakyeon faltered. He thought it would be obvious, but now he was treading on thin ice. "I . . ."

Ravi raised a judgmental, perfect eyebrow at him, eyes dark.

He cleared his throat, squaring his shoulders. "I want you to make me a love potion."

A moment when only dripping water filled the tower passed. Then, Ravi opened his mouth—but before he could say anything, lightning flashed through the three wide windows behind him. He closed his mouth. Hakyeon blinked several times, the after images of the lighting temporarily blinding him.

Ravi sighed, looking away from behind him.

Hakyeon wasn't pleased.

"So what will it be? Will you help me?" he all but demanded.

Ravi lazily rose from the couch and took the steps down from his platform. Hakyeon fortified his nerves, unsure of what he was doing. Ravi's shining leather shoes stepped through a puddle, only no water splashed in his wake and the shoes weren't wet when he stepped out of it.

The new proximity had Hakyeon's heart working double time; he never thought, in his whole life, that he'd be face to face with a _god,_ demanding things he didn't know if he _could_ demand or not. The fact that he was still alive was astounding. He hadn't come here expecting to die.

Ravi eventually came toe to toe with him—he was taller than Hakyeon, broader in the shoulders, and if that wasn't intimidating enough, his eyes were dark and impossible to read, swirling like the abyss. If he wasn't trying so hard to keep his composure, Hakyeon would start shaking on the spot.

The next moment saw Ravi raising a hand to skim down the side of his face. The touch froze Hakyeon and he set his jaw, clenching his fists.

Ravi tilted his head. "Tell me, human, is your resolve strong enough? Are _you_ strong enough?"

His touch was warm but not comforting—it was a warmth that threatened to burn him if he closed in on it.

"My resolve is stronger than you'll ever know. I _am_ strong enough."

The way Ravi's fingers skimmed his neck made him want to melt on the spot; whether that was out of being soothed or wanting to disappear, he wasn't sure. Ravi smirked, as if reading his mind. He leaned in. Hakyeon couldn't collect enough of his mind to make himself move.

When Ravi spoke again, his lips brushed against Hakyeon's. "We'll see, Cha Hakyeon."

His name on Ravi's breath was unlike anything Hakyeon had ever experienced before. It was as if his core flooded the rest of his body, launching him to a higher plane of existence, if only for a moment—a god said his name, and it felt like he was trying to snatch it away from him, snatch his very being away from himself. Hakyeon gasped.

"Show me your resolve." Ravi said, leaning in even more. Their cheeks skimmed until Ravi's lips were brushing the shell of his ear. "She's behind you and she has what you want."

_Entirely_ forgetting who he was in front of, a surge of adrenaline spun Hakyeon around, and sure enough, there she was. In her hand was a glass vial that glowed a menacing red. _That's it._

As if sensing his desperation to have it, she turned away and began running. The sound of her heels clicking against the concrete triggered him into a sprint.

Had he looked over his shoulder, he would've seen another man manifest from behind the wall to come up next to Ravi.

Now, his focus was on _her._ She was _here._ When he'd seen her earlier (when she _saved him)_ , had she been real then? Did she know what he was doing here? Did she know he was here for _her?_

No matter how fast he ran, he couldn't seem to close their gap. His heart pounded in his chest, legs working to the point of burning. She was a blur in his sight, weaving through the corridors as if she was born in this place and lived here her entire life. The flicker of the vial would distract Hakyeon and panic would shock his system every time he thought he lost sight of her.

Before he knew what was happening, more footsteps had joined the fray—behind him. They were somewhere in a mid-tier level when he picked up on them, and he was almost too frightened to look over his shoulder and check. He might lose sight of her if he did.

A glare of orange caught his peripheral when sliding around a corner, and that's when he had to look. There were two of them, one bigger than the other, dressed in the same kind of rich mauve uniform like servants with oversized, black bow ties around their white collars, buckled with a gold-encrusted broach. The smaller one's eyes glowed a fiery orange, and Hakyeon couldn't help noticing the aura of a flame surrounding him. The other was opposite, with midnight hair and cold eyes to match, shoulders staunch in his chase.

Spurred by urgency, Hakyeon ran much faster than his body wanted, desperate to keep up with her who had what he needed. If he could just head her off . . .

He jumped over smaller walls to cut their distance shorter and shorter, and he could hear the thumps of bodies dropping, following his path to keep up. If he could just catch up and escape this place—

"Nayo—" Like before, her name was cut off at the tip of his tongue and his attempts to catch her attention failed.

They rushed past empty banquet sets and crystal chandeliers, and Hakyeon knew they were in the lower levels now. How had they run so many in what seemed like such a short time?

"Please, wait!" he shouted hoarsely. She didn't, of course.

"Give up." one of the men from behind him called.

"You won't catch her." the other said. Neither of them sounded out of breath and it made Hakyeon think neither of them were human too, but he didn't have _time_ for that—

His attention caught when the flow of her black dress filled his vision. She was stopped on one of the ramps he'd passed earlier.

"Nayou—!" he cried, knowing it was useless to try and get her whole name out of his mouth.

"Show us your resolve." the two chasing him said simultaneously, and their words rang through his head, sending chills up his spine.

His eyes widened when she began fading away into dust like she had before, and the vial in her hand shone even brighter. In a final attempt to have her and it, he launched himself forward.

And then, church bells. Loud, bellowing, all-encompassing church bells filled Hakyeon's entire world. His vision dimmed. She scattered away before his eyes, the vial disappearing with her. His body didn't hit the floor. The church bells were the only thing blaring in his existence.

⚜

"You'll do it for me, won't you Wonsikie?" Jaehwan asked in a sweet voice, trailing ever closer to Wonsik.

Wonsik sat back on his couch, eying his bottles of mixtures and potions spread across the small table and platform.

He lounged back. "I will." he responded. "But don't misunderstand . . . I'm doing it because I want to see how it plays out."

Jaehwan chuckled, a sound that was on the border of dangerous. "Don't we all?" He began to walk off, hands easily sliding into the pockets of his white coat. The light gleamed off his pristine blonde hair, casting an almost angelic glow around his head. "I'll see you there then, hmm?"

Wonsik remained nonchalant, but he watched Jaehwan leave the room, off to do who knew what.

No matter what Wonsik thought, or even how he felt, he was tangled in this now, and once it started, there was no stopping until the end. It didn't matter though; he was interested to see how it ended. Jaehwan's pawn was in the middle of it all, and he'd made playthings of the two humans—Taekwoon, the beautiful not-so-human human, and Hakyeon, the pitiful human with all the cards stacked against him.

Sanghyuk and Hongbin were wrapped up in this ordeal as well. Poor, woeful Hongbin—it must pain him so to have to work against his beloved humans like this.

Church bells pervaded the endless tower.

"Show us your resolve."

⚜

Jaehwan descended the tower without trouble, taking his sweet time now that _all_ of the pieces had been set in motion. They would see who triumphed—Hongbin's humans, who he so adored that he would steal a miracle of the gods themselves to gift to them, or him, who would prove that humans were nothing but weak-willed and at the edge of extinction.

The prospect of losing stirred a life in him that he hadn't felt in a long while . . . It was exciting. He wanted to know who would win. Then again, Jaehwan knew he would dominate no matter who Nayoung chose.

His shoes clicked leisurely throughout the tower, him having to do little more than stand to fill the entire place with his presence. Lightning flashed outside and thunder followed, and the closer he got to the human, Hongbin, and Sanghyuk, the more power he exuded. He was _thrilled._

Finally, he found the scene just around the waist-high wall of the ramp: A frozen image of the disadvantaged human, Cha Hakyeon, throwing himself at something that wasn't there, and Hongbin and Sanghyuk diving after him on Jaehwan's command. He glided between his two servants and then around Hakyeon, observing the exquisite image of his body laid out in desperation to covet what he desired and who he loved.

Hakyeon must know that his chances of prevailing over Taekwoon were slim. Nothing was in his favor. He would undoubtedly _lose._ That was part of what delighted Jaehwan so much—that Hakyeon was going to try and try and _try,_ and he would fail.

However.

_However._ Jaehwan was a generous god, and no one said the game had to be played fair. Taekwoon had his advantages, and so he could all too easily tempt Hakyeon into giving up himself for the woman they so foolishly loved.

It would be _magnificent._

He snapped his fingers. Hakyeon disappeared. Hongbin and Sanghyuk collapsed to the floor.

"Fuck!" Sanghyuk exclaimed. He glared up at Jaehwan. "I hate it when you do that."

Hongbin, on the other hand, wasn't so verbal. He pushed himself up and dusted himself off. He wouldn't even look at Jaehwan.

"Come now, Binie." Jaehwan cooed, stepping closer. Hongbin looked away even further. "You know you want to see how it ends . . ." His voice dropped lower and became baleful. "You did this. Now you have to see how it ends."

Hongbin went rigid under the touch of fingertips effortlessly lifting his chin. ". . . Yes."

Jaehwan's hand was gone in an instant. He turned to Sanghyuk. "Sanghyogie, it's time for you to write a letter to our dear champion."

Sanghyuk was grumbling to himself about being dropped on the concrete, but came to attention at the mention of delivering a message. "What kind of letter?"

A smirk tugged Jaehwan's full lips. "An invitation. It may be the first of many." In his mind's eye, he saw a marble pantheon in another part of the forest, wide open and airy, and Hakyeon was waking up from what might've been a dream of his wild, deprived imagination.

_"Show me your resolve."_

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are! The expansion I dubiously promised. There will be more, all the way until Zelos. I hope you stay until then.


End file.
